Irish Coffee Chocolate Cake

You don’t have to be a coffee drinker to love this Irish Coffee Chocolate Cake! This tender cake has all the flavors of a good old Irish coffee, but it is sweet and decadent too! This cake is acceptable anytime your chocolate craving hits!

I do love a good, strong cup of coffee, but I generally cannot do Irish Whiskey. There is something about the taste. It is either too bitter or too bitter for my liking.

The only way Irish Whiskey tastes good to me is if I add it to chocolate cake. Chocolate makes everything taste better!

What Is Irish Coffee?

Irish coffee is actually a cocktail that is made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar that is stirred together then topped off with a general amount of whipped cream. It is a classic cocktail that is often served after a meal or with dessert.

This chocolate cake has those exact flavor, plus a little Irish cream!

How To Make Irish Cream Chocolate Cake

Before you start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8-inch pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper and set aside.

Start this recipe by preparing the ganache. You want to make sure it has time to set up.

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Ganache is made by heating heavy cream and pouring over chocolate, letting the mixture stand.

After a few minutes whisk the two together until the ganache comes together and beings to thicken, adding Irish whiskey as you stir.

Refrigerate ganache until it is spreadable, about 10-15 minutes (although sometimes this can take longer).

STEP ONE – In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and espresso powder.

STEP TWO – Mix in the sour cream and vegetable oil until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time until incorporated.

STEP THREE Beat in brewed coffee, hot water, and vanilla. Beat just until combined (do not overbeat) Note: the batter will be runny.

STEP FOUR – Divide the cake batter between the baking pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Place the cakes on wire racks to cool completely.

Once cooled, remove the cakes from the pan and remove the parchment paper as well.

For The Irish Cream Frosting Recipe:

The frosting for this chocolate cake recipe is your basic buttercream made by mixing together butter and shortening.

Carefully blend in powdered sugar one cup at a time while also adding in a little Bailey’s Irish Cream as well as a little shot of espresso,

You want to add your liquid in slowly so that the frosting isn’t too soft. You want a frosting that can be spread easily or even piped if that is your desire,

How To Assemble Chocolate Cake

If your cake tops are pretty flat after baking, then you are in luck. Otherwise, you may want to carefully slice off any domes.

Arrange one cake layer on your serving plate so that you have a flat side down and a flat side up, if possible. Spread a layer of ganache on top of the cake.

Place a second layer over the ganache and spread the second layer of ganache ( you may have extra ganache). Freeze cake for about 10 minutes so that the ganache is set and the layers do not slide.

Place the third layer of cake on top of the ganache, flat side up. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the cake and freeze again for another 10 minutes or so. Doing this will make it much easier to frost the whole cake and not have to deal with any cake crumbs.

Frost the cake with the remaining frosting.

Garnish the cake with chopped white and milk chocolate and chocolate-covered coffee beans if desired.

Recipe Tips

• I HIGHLY recommend taking the time to line your cake pans with parchment paper. This really is the best way to prevent your cakes from sticking to the pans.
• I had to cut a little off the top of each cake layer. I assembled my cake with the cut sides facing down for easy spreading and frosting.
• The ganache will take a little time to set that is why I prepare that first. You want to make sure your ganache is thick enough to spread (like a tub of chocolate frosting) but not too thick like fudge.
• After you spread ganache and layer the cake, allow it to set, especially if your ganache is a little thin. Otherwise, your layers will shift while you frost your cake.
• It is ok if a little ganache peeks out and it blends in with the buttercream while you frost it; it will only add to the flavor!
• You can alter the amount of alcohol in both the ganache and the frosting, however, if you add more liquid to the buttercream, you will probably have to add more powdered sugar.
• I also added a little espresso to the frosting; strongly brewed coffee would be fine. You can omit the flavor; it is a very subtle flavor anyway.
• The whiskey and Irish cream flavor are not that strong and can easily be omitted. Feel free to use coffee extract, chocolate extract, rum extract, or even brandy extract instead.
• I sprinkled the top of my cake with finely chopped white chocolate and milk chocolate and added a few chocolate-covered espresso beans.
• Store the cake covered in the refrigerator. The cake will last 3-4 days if properly covered. Otherwise, the cake will become dry.

Continue to Content

Yield: 12

Irish Coffee Chocolate Cake

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You don’t have to be a coffee drinker to love this Irish Coffee Chocolate Cake! This tender cake has all the flavors of a good old Irish coffee, but it is sweet and decadent too!  This cake is acceptable anytime your chocolate craving hits!

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 cup unsweetened dark cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup brewed coffee
• ½ cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Ganache:
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate
• 3 tablespoons Irish whiskey
• Frosting:
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup espresso
• ¼ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar
• chopped white and milk chocolate pieces

Instructions

1. Before you start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8-inch pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper, grease the paper, and set aside.
2. Prepare the ganache; Place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to sit for a few minutes; whisk until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
3. Refrigerate ganache until it is spreadable, about 10-15 minutes (although sometimes this can take longer).
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and espresso powder. 
5. Mix in the sour cream and vegetable oil until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time until incorporated.
6. Beat in brewed coffee, hot water, and vanilla. Beat just until combined (do not overbeat) Note: the batter will be runny. 
7. Divide the cake batter between the baking pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. Place the cakes on wire racks to cool completely. 
9. Once cooled, remove the cakes from the pan and remove the parchment paper as well.
10. While cakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream.
11. In the bowl of a mixer, beat together the butter and the shortening until creamy. Beat in the espresso and Irish Cream.
12. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, adding heavy cream or water to thin out the frosting until you achieve a spreadable consistency.
13. To assemble the cake, place one cake layer bottom side up on a serving plate, flat side up (cut off any domes on your cake layers), cover with half the ganache.
14. Top with a second layer and the remaining ganache. Top the cake with the last layer (bottom side up). Freeze for about 10 minutes to prevent the cakes from sliding while frosting.
15. Cover cake with a light layer of frosting and refrigerate until set; 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. This will trap any crumbs and make frosting the cake so much easier.
16. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting and top with chopped chocolate if desired.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 2592Total Fat 52gSaturated Fat 19gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 29gCholesterol 121mgSodium 472mgCarbohydrates 533gFiber 3gSugar 492gProtein 8g

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